


Perfect Subject

by Eleana_Lee



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Australia, Draco Malfoy & Harry Potter Friendship, Fluff and Humor, H/D Fan Fair 2019, M/M, Photographer Draco Malfoy, Post-Hogwarts, Secondary Theme: Travel Fair, Short & Sweet, Slice of Life, Time Skips, Travel Photography
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2020-10-20 12:35:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20675483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eleana_Lee/pseuds/Eleana_Lee
Summary: a chance meeting sets Draco off onto the path of photography, and he travels the world in search of the perfect subject





	Perfect Subject

**Author's Note:**

> For Prompt [# 180](https://docs.google.com/document/d/16er_sVwwFtbVQxtiFqHRWhw09kwNYhywsB-R48qtVPU/edit#).
> 
> this has been fun to write. I love travel myself, and am always looking for places to go although it's hard when you work full-time and don't have anyone to go with as solo travel can be quite pricy, but anyway. In fact, I just came back from a trip to Tasmania when I started really writing this fic. All of the places mentioned in this fic are places I've been to quite recently.
> 
> Just as a note, there's a huge time skip between the first part and the following ones.
> 
> This work is beta'd by tavia_d.

After the end of the Wizarding War, the Malfoy family went their separate ways. Lucius was sent to Azkaban for his crimes, and while Narcissa and Draco were pardoned because of Harry, they were exiled from Wizarding London and the Manor was seized by the Ministry.

Narcissa left for France, settling down in a small quiet village with Andromeda and Teddy. They were both weary of all the fighting and wanted to spend most of their time in peace. They had also decided to rekindle their relationship after Bellatrix's death. Harry visited them often to check up on the three, and while Narcissa was a bit stiff with him in the beginning, she quickly warmed up to him.

Draco decided not to return to Hogwarts for his final year even though the Ministry granted him an exemption from the exile to do so. Harry met him before he left to return his wand, but no one knew where he was going.

To be fair, Draco himself didn't know where he was going.

For the first few months, he travelled mostly around Europe. He took odd jobs at a local diner as a dishwasher, and no one had to know that he occasionally threw in a Scourgify spell or two when he was feeling particularly lazy.

One sunny day, as he was taking a quick break in the back alley behind the diner he was working at, he found someone with a camera, snapping away at the murals and graffiti that covered the walls of the alley. It was also a shortcut between two streets so although there were some bins there, people still braved the alley to get to the other side quicker.

The man stopped to review the pictures he had taken and noticed Draco sitting there, watching him with great interest.

"Hello there," he greeted. "You work at this diner?"

"Yeah," Draco said. "Can I have a look?"

The man beckoned him, and Draco quickly walked over to his side. The camera was quite big, bigger than the ones he saw tourists carried around. It was secured around the man's neck with a strap, and he lowered it to his chest to show Draco the pictures.

"They're not moving," Draco said more to himself but the man heard him and laughed.

"Why would they move?" he asked. "I'll be worried that there's a ghost here if they do."

Draco looked at the pictures with much interest. He had seen the graffiti and murals every day, but somehow they looked better in the man's pictures.

"Do you like them?" the man asked with a grin, noting the interest in Draco's eyes. "I'd hope they're good. I'm paid to do this after all."

"Do you?"

"Yeah, I work for a travel magazine back home," the man said, "I'm paid for each picture they want to use. I don't write the articles though, which is a pity. I might get paid better or more consistently if I write the articles for them as well."

"You're really talented," Draco commented. He wasn't used to paying other people compliments, but he knew talent when he saw it. The man also probably had practiced his craft for a while.

"Thanks," the man said. "Are you interested? I'm still in the city until the end of the month, and I'll share some tips with you."

"I don't have a camera though," Draco admitted. "I'm, well, I'm just working odd jobs and going from place to place."

"Everyone has to start somewhere," the man said with a shrug. "I was just like you too when I finished high school. I didn't know what I wanted to do and took a gap year to travel. I met a nature photographer on one of my trips and fell in love with photography since then. I guess I see myself in you and that's why I want to help you."

"Alright," Draco said, "please help me."

They met again the next day, and the older man had a smaller, worn camera case in his hands. It housed an old but still functioning camera, and the man told Draco it was his first camera.

"It's yours if you want it," the man said. "I was going to pawn it but I think it'll have a better use with you."

"Thank you," Draco said, choking up slightly. He had never had anyone help him without expecting anything in return, and the man's kindness touched him.

They spent the next few days together, taking pictures of various landmarks in the area. Draco started working night shifts so he could spend the day with the man, and he sent Narcissa a letter telling her about the man and his decision to travel the world with his camera.

"Well, this is it for me," the man said one day. "I'm going home tomorrow, and I'll take a break before I leave again. Maybe one day I'll see you once more if we're lucky and our paths cross again."

Draco nodded mutely. The man was kind yet respectful, although he was easily decades older than Draco. He was wise and generally a good person, and in the weeks they knew each other, he had been more of a father figure to Draco than his own father.

"Don't be sad," the man said, patting Draco's back. "I believe we were allowed to meet for a reason. Here, I'll give you my email address so you can contact me if you want. I always change phone numbers but my email address never changes."

Draco looked at him curiously and made a quick mental note to ask Narcissa to ask Harry what an email address was. The man wrote something on a business card and handed it over to Draco.

"The one on the card is my business email," he said, "and the one I wrote is my personal one. You can contact me anytime you want, even if it's only for idle chatter, okay? Maybe send through samples of your pictures too. I promise I won't steal them," he finished with a laugh.

"Well, that's that then," the man said as he stood up, stretching his limbs. "I hope I'll see you around."

The man walked away, and Draco was left to stare at the card in his hand blankly. There, at the top left corner of the card, was the name of the man whom he had been spending a lot of time with during the past weeks. It might seem strange, but they never introduced themselves on their first meeting, and it just escaped their mind after that, with Draco calling him Uncle and the man calling him Kid.

He blinked once, twice, thinking he read it wrong, but the name didn't change, and he could only shake his head in disbelief. It must have been a coincidence, but somehow it felt like he could never stray too far away from that family.

There, on the top left corner of the business card, was the name James Potter.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Draco sat on a wooden bench and pulled out his phone to check the time. After James left, he reached out to Harry to ask him everything about Muggle life, which surprised Harry since Draco always acted as if he didn't exist whenever they both visited Narcissa.

He started working as a freelance photographer, building up his portfolio and selling them to magazines and websites. It took a long time and meanwhile he kept working in diners while travelling. He had since got a new camera, but he still kept the old one that James gave him.

While he would never openly admit it in front of people, he loved his smartphone. He had kept in contact with James, and had also got Narcissa to use one so they could text instead of use owl post as texts were much faster.

"The sun should come up soon," he said to himself and stood up, walking over to the wooden railing around the lookout point. The sea in front of him was vast and seemingly limitless. One of the things he liked to capture were sunrises and sunsets, although he couldn't take a sunset picture since he was currently on the east coast of Australia.

As soon as he saved enough money, he got a ticket to Australia. Narcissa had disagreed at first, but understood his desire to be as far away from Wizarding London as he could be. He had since been travelling all around the country to capture mostly scenery pictures.

His phone rang and he saw his mother's name on the screen.

"You know international calls are expensive, right?" Draco asked as he picked up the call, his eyes still trained on the horizon. The dark sky had started to brighten, tinged with yellow and blue, but the sun had yet to peek out.

"So?" Narcissa asked back. "Where are you now?"

"Coffs Harbour," Draco replied easily. "Small town, not many choices of places to eat. Currently though, I'm at Muttonbird Island, waiting for the sunrise."

"Ah, it's almost six over there," Narcissa said thoughtfully. "What is a muttonbird? Is it a magical creature?"

"No, Muggles are just weird," Draco replied easily. "Did you need anything?"

"Just checking up on you, because you never call me," Narcissa said, a hint of indignation in her tone. "Some ungrateful child you are."

Draco chuckled. "Didn't you get my postcard?"

"I thought you're against letters now," Narcissa shot back. "I did, but there was nothing written on it. Honestly, it wouldn't kill you to come visit us once in a while, or at least call us."

"How's Teddy?" he asked quickly, trying to change the subject before his mother could continue on her tirade. "Has he received the invitation to Hogwarts?"

"Recently, yes," Narcissa answered. "Andromeda is going out to Diagon Alley with him tomorrow. Now, don't try to change the subject again."

"You know plane tickets aren't cheap, Mother," Draco said, "and I don't like travelling by Portkeys. There are no fireplaces here to set up a Floo connection, and I don't stay anywhere long enough to set it up anyway."

He could hear Narcissa sigh on the other end, but knew that she didn't hold it against him. It had been years since he left England, and sometimes he felt like a foreigner there.

"Did you meet Harry?" Narcissa queried. "He said he's heading over to Australia for a conference and intensive training."

"Intensive training," Draco scoffed. "For someone who's supposedly in the middle of intensive training, he sure has a lot of free time."

"So you met."

"Somehow," Draco said. "I was in Sydney last week, and so was he. Seems like they hired the stadium for practice."

"He tells me more things than you do."

"That's because he's more of a gossip than I am."

"Where are you going next?"

"Tasmania, I think," Draco said, "maybe for a couple of weeks. I want to go to central Australia too, and then I'll be back in Sydney to meet with an agency, and hopefully by then Potter would have returned to England."

Narcissa chuckled. "Did you get Andromeda's homemade jam from him?"

"I did," Draco said. "I think that's the only good thing about travelling with magic. You don't have to deal with immigration and paperwork, and quarantine."

"Well, I'll let you go then," Narcissa said, "I don't want you to complain that I made you miss the sunrise. Don't forget to call us soon; Teddy will want to speak with you before he leaves for Hogwarts."

"Sure," Draco agreed. "Actually, I might go back there quickly with Potter before he leaves then. He told me they have a quick break before the actual competition."

"Why are they practicing so far away from home then?"

"They're practicing in the actual stadium used for the competition, to familiarise themselves or something like that."

"Alright, I'll see you soon."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Draco sighed as he finally reached Marion's Lookout, one of the higher vantage points on Cradle Mountain. He had followed through with what he told Narcissa and had gone to Tasmania. It wasn't easy to scale the mountain, and it was even harder because he was carrying precious cargo; his camera.

"That was harder than I thought. Mountain climbers sure are impressive."

Draco sighed again. "Tell me why you're here again?"

"I'm on a break and decided to go sightseeing," Harry said as he shrugged, looking around. "There's still a bit of snow there."

"I'm not blind, I can see that for myself," Draco grumbled. He took his camera case out of his backpack and began putting it together.

"You know, I know you're a professional, but it's always interesting to see you in action," Harry commented as he watched Draco assemble the camera, putting the lens and hood on. "Good thing it's a sunny day today."

Draco ignored the comment and began taking pictures of the surrounding. He could see the cliffs and the lake clearly from the lookout, and he was glad that there weren't many people around since it was still pretty early in the morning.

"Where are you going tomorrow?" Harry asked curiously as he sat down on a rock behind Draco.

"Shouldn't you already know?" Draco shot back. "Stalker."

"I was just making small talk," Harry replied with a shrug, "and who knew if your plans had changed. I mean, you could decide to stay in Launceston for a day instead of just stopping over for the night, right?"

Draco lowered his camera and glared at Harry. "Stalker."

Harry grinned unrepentantly. "I like to call myself an interested party."

"Did my mother send you to spy on me?"

"I volunteered, actually."

"Somehow I'm not surprised at all."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Cousin Draco!" Teddy squealed as he rushed towards Draco, nearly tackling him down. "You're here!"

"I am indeed," Draco said, wheezing slightly as Teddy knocked the wind out of him. "I can't believe you're going to Hogwarts already. Time flies by too quickly."

"Don't talk like an old man, darling," Narcissa said as she joined them. "How was your trip?"

"Could be quieter," Draco said with a shrug, chancing a glance at Harry who was talking to Andromeda. "I'm going back there tomorrow. Potter has to go back too because the tournament is coming up."

"We're going too," Narcissa said suddenly, and Draco looked at her questioningly. "We're going to watch his match. Maybe after that we can go catch up with you together."

"I'd rather you not."

Narcissa reached out and pinched Draco's arm. "What did you say to me?"

"Ow, since when were you so violent?" Draco protested. "Fine, you can come join me after the match. It might be boring though, since I'll probably be in Uluru around that time and it's not a big city. It's... mostly nature, I suppose."

"Can I come too?" Teddy asked.

"You'll already be in Hogwarts by then," Harry said as he joined them. "Maybe next year on your break, okay? We'll follow Draco to wherever he is."

"Okay," Teddy conceded.

"You're training stalker number two now?" Draco accused, holding Teddy tighter. "Don't listen to anything he says, okay?"

"But I want to follow you too, Cousin Draco," Teddy said, "I think your pictures are really nice."

"Thanks," Draco said. "I'll be sorting the pictures today, do you want to join me?"

"Sure!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Draco arrived in Uluru before the others, and took the time to stroll around the base of the rock, taking care not to photograph any of the sacred sites. He wanted to go on a sunset tour, but decided to wait for his mother to come since she probably wanted to go too and he'd never hear the end of it if he went without her.

The next day, he got a text from Harry telling him of his team's victory, and that they would join him a day later. Not long after, his phone rang with a call from Harry.

"We're having a celebratory dinner together. If you want to join, we can postpone to a lunch tomorrow?"

"No, just go. There aren't many food options here."

"Maybe we want the company, not just the food."

Draco snorted. "Then a normal lunch will be fine, right?"

"We'll see you tomorrow then."

"Sure. Take care of them."

"Always."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"That was really beautiful," Andromeda commented as they watched the sky changing its colour as the sun began to set behind them.

Draco hummed in agreement, lowering his camera to scroll the gallery. "It is beautiful," he said.

"Still not good enough to be the perfect subject?" Harry asked teasingly. When Draco left England years ago, he went in search of the perfect subject, although they all knew it was not a real goal, because they knew he would never be satisfied with his subject, since there were still so many places he had yet to visit.

"Guess not," Draco replied.

"Let me see? But you know you will never capture the perfect subject," Harry said, taking the offered camera from Draco and checking the gallery, scrolling through the most recent pictures of the sun setting over Uluru. The sky was painted a brilliant mix of orange and red, and one side of the rock was bathed in the light while the other side was dark in the shadows. The sky was clear with no clouds in sight, and a hint of blue stayed at the top of the frame.

"How are you so sure?" Draco scoffed as he reached out to snatch the camera back, taking care to do it slowly because it was his prized possession and he didn't want to drop it. "There are still so many places I have yet to see, so many people too, and I'm sure one day I'll find it, even if it takes me forever."

"You don't know why?" Harry asked back with a small smile. He reached out and lifted the strap of the camera over Draco's head, securing it behind his neck, and allowed his hand to linger just a little longer as it grazed past Draco's cheek. "Because it's always behind the camera."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Please support the author by clicking on the kudos button and leaving a comment below! ♥


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